import files in obj, dae, ply
I tried to create and download a model from the link you posted in your question, and my OBJ is correctly imported (I used one of the sample pictures on the link). The object's vertices location is not convenient (as shown in your picture), but the pivot is on the world center, so to quickly translate the mesh to the center and keep the pivot:


go to Edit Mode, and select all vertices
press Shift+S and choose Selection to Cursor (Offset)
then in Object Mode rotate and/or scale the object to position it as you prefer.


Anyway, the procedure to import the OBJ in MeshLab and export it to PLY format is a common practice, because PLY format keeps the Vertex Color data, while OBJ can't (so what you did is a good practice). So my suggestion is to use PLY format instead of DAE.

P.S.: When you see an object in the outliner, but not in the 3D Viewport, press the "." key on the numpad to quickly focus on the object without scrolling your mouse wheel.